Why Experiential Learning?

Connect Experience With Curriculum

How does who we are and what we know connect with what we are experiencing, what is being taught and what we will actually learn?
There is a difference between each of these and a way to bridge all of this……

Connect Experience With Curriculum

Critical Reflection
The intent of reflection is to force students to pause and think about what has happened or is happening and how does it connect with what they already know and the content you are teaching them.
Make it “sticky”

Connect Experience With Curriculum

“Stickiness” seeks to explain what makes a concept memorable or interesting
“SUCCES”
Simple – Find the core of any idea, be concise
Unexpected – Grab people’s attention by surprising them
Concrete – make sure the idea can be grasped and remembered later, use solid ideas
Credible – make the idea believable, provide evidence if possible
Emotional – help people see the importance of an idea, why should they care?
Stories – empower people to use an idea through narrative
"Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath, Dan Heath” (2007)

Connect Experience With Curriculum

Critical Reflection……
IS
Analytical and Rigorous
Carefully guided for critical thinking About showcasing reasoning
Individual and collaborative – for sharing A chance to learn how one thinks and
relates to course content
A process designed to generate, deepen Document learning
IS NOT
Touchy-Feely
Just a flow of thought – diary entry About personal opinions
To be done alone –introspective Therapy
Busy work that is irrelevant to learning

Connect Experience With Curriculum

Shift your thinking……critical reflection is writing for learning not writing for after learning has taken place. Not an expression of learning that has already occurred but a vehicle for learning itself.
Focus on providing students with opportunities to apply lessons and concepts in different settings so they can develop new insights, ideas and unique ways of relating to the content.